Nielsen to launch Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings

Nielsen is getting closer to offering what advertisers have been asking for years now: a system that standardizes ratings and metrics for television and online ads. “Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings” will combine Nielsen’s existing television ratings, which measure reach and frequency, with Nielsen’s new online campaign ratings, which apply the same measurements to the Web.

Until now, the two ratings have existed on their own, making it more difficult for media agencies and advertisers to determine how their TV and Web ads do or do not work together.

To make it happen, WPP’s GroupM and Nielsen are collaborating to integrate planning and measurement across television and the Internet. Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings will use the Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings product, as well as its existing television audience measurement capabilities, to provide clients with total and overlapped reach and frequency of their marketing campaigns. Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings provides reach, frequency and GRP measures for Internet advertising.

When this will be made available to GroupM clients and then possibly other clients?
“Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings is available now to select clients – including both GroupM and non-GroupM accounts. It will be available in full production mode later this year.”

What advertisers are first to use the system?
“We do not disclose the names of clients.”

Any details on how the metrics will be standardized?“Nielsen Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings combines TV and online ad measurement using the Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings product, Nielsen’s industry-standard National television panel, and the Nielsen Cross-Platform Homes Panel.

a) Advertisers identify all of the TV ads (encoded with a Nielsen Audio Watermark) and online ads (tagged with a Nielsen tag) from a cross-platform ad campaign.

d) Nielsen combines and calibrates the measurements to generate the final combined and overlapped measurement for the campaign.

The specific metrics it produces:
· Unduplicated and duplicated reach, frequency, and GRPs, by age/gender demo.

· These are captured through 3 standard cross-platform reports that are delivered for each campaign”

GroupM serves as the parent company to WPP media agencies including Maxus, MEC, MediaCom, and Mindshare.

The effort will first be made available to GroupM clients. The two companies will also work together to develop innovative new measurement tools that extend beyond TV and online to other platforms. In the future Nielsen will extend the cross-platform system to include smartphone ad views and international ad views.

“Our advertiser clients increasingly recognize that traditional television advertising and online video advertising must work together,” said Rino Scanzoni, GroupM’s Chief Investment Officer. “It’s vital that we have consistent measurement, and that’s our goal in working with Nielsen.”

“Cross-platform metrics are essential to both buyers and sellers of advertising,” said Steve Hasker, president of Media Products and Advertiser Solutions for Nielsen. “Every day, we’re hearing from advertisers, online publishers, TV networks and agencies that a better system of measurement is required. Through working closely with GroupM and others in the industry we believe we can help create best practices that will benefit the entire ecosystem.”

Nielsen started offering TV-like online ratings about six months ago. They’ve been used for 600 different advertising campaigns to date.

About The Author:
Carl has been with RBR-TVBR since 1997 and is currently Managing Director/Senior Editor. Residing in Northern Virginia, he covers the business of broadcasting, advertising, programming, new media and engineering. He’s also done a great deal of interviews for the company and handles our ever-growing stable of bylined columnists.